Thursday, June 14, 2012

Zen and the Art of Wrap-Skirt Making

This may appear to be just a denim wrap skirt, but this skirt has become much more than that. I realized as I was making this skirt, and as it kept transforming, that it was really a metaphor for me. Okay, okay, so maybe I'm a little crazy, but I can learn a lot about myself from sewing.

So, let me back up and start at the beginning. It all started when I went to the local fabric store and purchased Burda pattern 8176, medium weight denim, and a zipper. I've been wanting a denim skirt for awhile now. And for some reason they are surprisingly hard to come by in any shape but straight.

Anywhoo, I told myself that I was going to be patient with this project. You may have noticed that I tend to run through projects at lightning speed. It's like a super speedy energy flows through me and I just can't rest until the project is complete. This time, I was determined to slow it down. I also wanted to give myself extra time because I don't typically like to use patterns. Let's just say I'm not a 'follow the rules' kind of girl.

So, I cut out most of the pieces the other night and then went to bed at a decent hour like a good girl. I carefully folded my cut pieces and even labeled them so that I would be able to tell them from one another.

The next day I came back to the skirt. That's when I realized that in typical Mandy fashion, I already found a way to mess things up. Instead of following the nice little pictures telling me how to cut the fabric, I had just cut away. So when I tried to cut the yoke pieces, I did not have enough denim to cut all four pieces.

That's when I got the idea to use a different fabric for the inside of the yoke. I had some leftover Amy Butler fabric in a thicker home decor weight that I thought would look really nice with the denim. Problem solved.

As it turns out, I really liked the way that the contrasting fabric looked with the denim. Remembering that I was determined to be patient, I sewed a couple of seams and then put the project down. I kept thinking that perhaps I should somehow incorporate the Amy Butler fabric some more. After all, nobody was going to see the inside of the yoke except myself. I had pictures of applique dancing around in my head. I ruminated about it all day. But nothing felt right.

So, I came back and sewed some more seams. That's when I realized my next big mistake. I must have measured myself incorrectly. Even with the 5/8" seam allowance, it was obvious that this skirt was going to be way too large for me. And (as I think I have mentioned before), me and zippers are not good friends. Plus I had been considering making a wrap skirt for a while now. So I added all the variables up and I figured that this must be the universe's way of telling me that this skirt was destined to be a wrap skirt.

This gave me a great way to incorporate more of the Amy Butler fabric; I used it to make the ties. I also used a couple of D-rings to fasten the skirt ties like a belt, instead of tying it in a bow. Last but not least, I decided to throw on a pocket as a finishing touch and - voila - a wrap skirt was born.

Years ago I was told that Navajo rugs are always woven with an imperfection; a nod to the beauty of mistakes and imperfections that make up life. I have no idea if this is actually true or not. But, I have often thought about this when in the midst of chaos, or when I find myself making mistakes. Such is life. I find that if I let go of my resistance to mistakes that I open myself up to something greater.